WELCOME
Knowing Your Students:
A Key Component to
Providing Effective
Instruction
Brandman University #EDDU 9324
What do you notice about these two
individuals?
These are two real people whose goal
in life is to look like Ken and Barbie.
Rodrigo Alves, a 30-year-old flight
attendant and self-proclaimed plastic
surgery addict, has spent almost
$200,000 in his quest to look like
Ken.
Those numbers are in British pounds.
Valeria Lukyanova is a 21 year old
from the Ukraine.
We are not here to make a judgment
about whether or not the actions of
these two individuals are good or
bad…but only to think about how they
got to this place in their lives.
What factors influenced them to take
the actions they have taken.
It is attempt to understand, not judge.
The same is true of our desire to get to
understand more about our students.
The information we gather helps us
understand their motivations, desires,
etc. and that understanding helps us
to bring out the best in them.
We want to do this in the “real time.”
When we can still do something with
the information to help our students.
There are examples of where
information is gathered after the fact.
In psychology, they do what is called a
“psychological autopsy” on individuals
who have committed suicide.
They look back at their lives to
determine what factors brought them
to making the decision in hopes of
preventing others from taking their
lives.
Another example is when the Federal
Aviation Administration attempts to
determine what caused a plane crash
by examining data from the “Black
Box” and taking the wreckage back to
a hangar and reconstructing the plane.
This is a photo of Pan Am flight 103.
Our goal in this class is to have you
take the information you gathered
about the student and immediately
use that information to positively
influence their learning.
Not down the road with the next
group of students you teach.
.
Understand, we are using the term
“influence,” because that is all you can
do.
You can not control all of the factors
that determine a student’s success in
school.
You can be the best teacher with the
most exciting curriculum, but if they
don’t show up…it doesn’t matter.
Or provide them with an
understanding of their learning style,
but you can’t make them put the work
in to actually learn.
Think of the influence you have as
changing the course of a student’s life.
That change may seem small, say just
1%. But over time that seemingly
minor change can have a tremendous
impact on the individual’s success
down the road.
S
U
C
C
E
Your intervention
S
No interventions
S
TIME
It is important never to minimize what
you do or attempt to do.
Many times the actions you take don’t
have an immediate impact on
behavior or attitudes, but it does latter
on in the student’s life.
Let’s get started…
Goals for today…
1. Review the 3 student profiles you
created.
2. Give you ideas about the actions you
might take with your students related
to each of the 12 factors.
Reminders…
You can download all the PowerPoints
by bringing a thumb drive at the end
our Nov. 7th meeting.
You can turn in your Practicum in
either a hard copy or electronic form.
If your handwriting is an issue, please
type the Practicum.
We have had a couple that were
difficult to read the responses.
In October we talked about
information being power.
The more you know, the better able
you are to meet the needs of each of
your students.
The “Actions” we are having you take
is changing the “potential” power of
information into real power.
This is the power to…
-Motivate them
-Support them
-Tap into their strengths and minimize
their weaknesses
-Help them interact positively with
their peers
-Achieve at their highest level
We said you could collect information
in different ways.
1. Observation
2. Conversation
3. Investigation
Please turn to page #2 in your
Practicum.
STUDENT “A” PROFILE
1. Factor: __________________________________________
Evaluation: ________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________ ___________________
______________________________________________________________ ___________________________
________________________________________________________ _________________________________
2. Factor: __________________________________________
Evaluation: _________________________________________________ ______________________________
______________________________________________________________________ ___________________
______________________________________________________________ ___________________________
________________________________________________________ _________________________________
3. Factor: __________________________________________
Evaluation: _______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________ ___________________
______________________________________________________________ ___________________________
________________________________________________________ _____________________________ ____
4. Factor: __________________________________________
Evaluation: _______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________ ___________________
______________________________________________________________ ___________________________
________________________________________________________ _________________________________
5. Factor: __________________________________________
Evaluation: _______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________ ___________________
______________________________________________________________ ___________________________
________________________________________________________ _________________________________
KNOWING YOUR STUDENTS
PORTFOLIO Page 2
We asked you to create a “Student
Profile” for three of your students.
NO NAMES…simply student A, B and
C.
As you talk about the information you
gathered at your tables, please refer to
the student as, A, B or C.
For each student you were to select 6
of the 12 factors and evaluate that
student on those 6 factors.
You did not have to use the same 6
factors for each of the 3 students.
Choose the factors that you feel will
most impact the student’s success in
your class.
Also factors for which you can get the
information.
Those can be very different for each
student.
In the next section of the Practicum
you will be asked to take two actions
for each of these students to improve
their academic achievement.
Student evidence…
The purpose of this (pre) student
evidence is to create a “baseline” by
which you can judge the influence
your actions are having on improving
their performance in your classroom.
You will compare this evidence with
the evidence you collect after taking
your actions.
It will be the basis for your final
evaluation.
Here is a sample of what one teacher
has done for this section…
Factor: Life experience (Parent in jail)
Evaluation: Currently this student’s mom is in
jail. When asked where is mom, she will respond
that mom is at work and children cannot come to
visit her. Dad is taking care of her, her older
brother, and the baby. Unsure what mom is in jail
for? Dad currently provides for the children in the
sense that they are fed and clothed. However,
homework completion and cleanliness of this
student is lacking. Dad has also quit his job and is
currently living off of assistance in order to be
present for the children.
Factor: Socio-economic
Evaluation: This child comes from a family that
has at the most a high school education. Dad
shared at the PSAP intake meeting that he was
diagnosed with ADHD and was a “guinea pig” for
medication therefore although his children may
need medication, he is hesitant to get it for
them. The family is currently on welfare and
living off of assistance since dad recently quit his
job to take care of the 3 children due to mom being
in jail. When mom was not in jail, she was a stay
at home mom taking care of the baby.
Factor: Academic Achievement
Evaluation: This child is below grade level. She is
currently reading on a level 4 (which by now students
should be reading at level 12). Although she is only
on level 4, at the beginning of the school year she
could barely pass level 1 books. Math is much easier
for her. Most of the math concepts with repetition she
is able to grasp and understand. She currently has
weekly word lists that I created to help her blend
sounds in order to read words. In addition she works
with our educational assistance daily to help boost her
reading abilities.
Please talk about student profiles you
have created. I want you to share one
of your examples with the people at
your table.
This will give you a chance not only to
see what other people are doing, but
also to begin to think about the
actions you can take to help the each
student.
Turn to page #8 in your Portfolios.
STUDENT “A” ACTION #1
Action: ___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Rationale: ________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Criteria:
1. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
Evaluation: _______________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________
KNOWING YOUR STUDENTS
PORTFOLIO Page 8
Action: We are asking you to identify
the specific action you are going to
take.
Rationale: Why this action? It should
relate to information you gathered on
the Student Profile.
Criteria: How are you going to
evaluate the impact your action is
having on the student.
An example…
Action: You are going to work with the
Counselor in your building to help the
Parents with understanding the
importance of supporting and raising
their child. You are providing them
books on parenting and telling them
about parenting classes offered in the
community.
Rationale: The parents say they can’t
get their child to go to school. They
wake him up every morning, but he
refuses to get out of bed. They have to
go to work, so they leave with the hope
that their child gets dress and goes to
school.
Criteria for evaluation:
-School attendance for the student
-Reports from parents about what is
going on at home
-Grades
-Participation
You will need 2 criteria to use as the
basis of your evaluation.
Here are some other examples of
criteria you can use.
Criteria:
-Amount of homework the student is
turning in
-Quality of work they are doing
-Performance on tests
-Volunteering in class
-Interactions with peers
-Being asked to join peer groups
-Number of times you have to address
their behavior in class
-Time on task
-Referrals to office
-Extra-curricular participation
-Attendance
-Appearance
-Comes with proper supplies
-Student is participating in counseling
at school
-Student is participating in counseling
outside of school
-Return of phone calls by parents
-Parents attendance at school events
-Parents report having a better
relationship with student and the
student being under control at home
Evaluation.
Did the action have an impact on
changing the student’s behavior? Use
the pre and post examples of student
evidence to support your conclusions.
What we are looking for here is a
detailed and complete evaluation.
You will use this same process for all 6
of the actions you will take.
To clarify…
3 student profiles…you collect a piece
of evidence for each student, A, B & C,
that represents their current level of
work.
3 pieces of student evidence.
6 actions:
2 actions for student A and a piece of
student evidence for each action. 2 pieces
of student evidence
2 actions for student B and a piece of
student evidence for each action. 2 pieces
of student evidence
2 actions for student C and a piece of
student evidence for each action. 2 pieces
of student evidence
9 total pieces of student evidence,
with captions.
3 (pre) with the student profiles
6 (post) 1 per action taken.
Let’s look at actions you can take
related to the each of the 12 factors.
Life experiences…
We have mentioned it numerous
times, but make sure you don’t project
onto the student how you would feel
or behave if you had had that life
experience.
Take divorce for example…
Depending upon the time you grew
up, you can have a different view of
divorce.
For children today, it is actually the
norm (just over 50%) to be raised by a
single parent, a parent and stepparent or guardian.
Once, a social taboo, has now has
become much more acceptable.
Divorce rates by decade.
1900 - 8%
1980 – 40%
1930 - 16%
1990 – 42%
1940 - 20%
2000 – 44%
1950 - 26%
1960 - 22%
1970 - 33%
Don’t get caught up on statistics
related to divorce as these rates vary
from state to state, by cultural or
religious group, age of when
individuals marry, children in the
marriage, etc.
So you will see many different
statistics on divorce.
What’s important is to look at it in
terms of what effect it is having on the
students in your class, and how it is
impacting their learning.
Some students might in fact do better
after their parents divorce.
No longer tension in the home.
Some parents have done a great job of
dealing with custody issues and the
child is comfortable with the
arrangement created.
Don’t project…
Some students might in fact do better
after their parents divorce.
No longer tension in the home.
Some parents have done a great job of
dealing with custody issues and the
child is comfortable with the
arrangement created.
Don’t think about how you would feel
going back and forth between parents.
Interesting divorce facts we found.
1.What % of second marriages end in
divorce?
2.What % of third marriages end in
divorce?
3. If your parents were happily
married, by what % does that decrease
you chance of getting divorced?
A quick divorce quiz.
1.What % of second marriages end in
divorce? 60%
2.What % of third marriages end in
divorce? 73%
3. If your parents were happily
married, how much does that decrease
you chance of getting divorced? 14%
Life experience actions…
1.Refer to counselor
Get them help in understanding their
experiences and how it impacts their
behavior and effort in the classroom.
2.Get in counseling group
This is the concept of “universality.”
That is, learning you are not the only
one experiencing something or feeling
a certain way about things.
The “imposter syndrome” is an
example of this.
Other universal feelings…
-Fear of the unknown
-Rejection
-Abandonment
Feelings we all have and it is
comforting to know that you are not
the only one feeling them.
Fear of the unknown is an interesting
one as some children who are being
abused are more afraid of being taken
out of the home and put in foster care
than they are of the abuse.
The abuse is a known…foster care is
an unknown.
3.Have them talk with someone who
has experienced what they have
experienced.
Find that individual who can related
to them.
This can be a peer or an adult.
An example a support group at the
adult level is called “Compassionate
Friends.”
With 650 chapters in all 50 states, this
group helps people who have lost a
child.
Only people who have lost a child can
be part of the group.
This is because they can relate and
understand each other on a level those
of us who have not lost a child can’t
truly comprehend.
4. Provide books and stories about
successful individuals who have dealt
with similar life experiences.
Quick quiz….match the individual with
their childhood.
Sarah Jessica Parker
Jewel
Oprah
Tom Cruise
1.
Grew up in a rustic log cabin in a
small town in Alaska. Didn’t have
indoor plumbing.
2.
One of 8 children. Single Mom on
welfare.
3.
4.
Beaten by their Father.
Sexually abuse starting at 9 years
old and poor.
1.
Grew up in a rustic log cabin in a
small town in Alaska. Didn’t have
indoor plumbing. Jewel
2.
One of 8 children. Single Mom on
welfare. Sarah Jessica Parker
3.
4.
Beaten by his Father. Tom Cruise
Sexually abuse starting at 9 years
old and poor. Oprah
5. Don’t let them be a victim…keep
reminding them that they have a
choice in life.
Keep telling them that they can
achieve anything they want in life…
That their life experience is only an
obstacle only if they let it be one.
Charles Schwab, who Forbes says in
the 50th richest person in the US with
a net worth of $4.7 billion dollars, is
dyslexic.
Triggers actions…
When you know someone’s triggers,
you can avoid them and/or teach the
person how to control their reactions
-Pick partners for the student
-Have special seating for the student
-Work with them about understanding
their triggers
-Help them with transition
times…storyboards
-Have them be with you at the front of
lines
-Talk with them before class to get
understand how they are feeling as
they enter your classroom
-Talk with their peers about the
student’s triggers so they can avoid
them
An example would be having a signal
with the student that they are getting
agitated.
The student is responsible for letting
you know that they are starting to lose
it. You then can take action by
bringing them up to the front of the
class, letting go out in the hall and
calming down, going to the office, etc.
Joe had a student at his elementary
who had 4 different color 3x5 cards.
Each card represented a different level
of emotion….
Calm
Green
Agitated
Blue
Yellow
Red
The student’s job was to have a card
on their desk at all times that reflected
how they were feeling at that moment.
The teacher could easily see the
emotional level and intervene if they
saw it going towards Red.
The students in class could also see
the cards and know how that student
was feeling.
It put responsibility on the student for
monitoring their own emotions.
It also allowed the other students in
class to know when to approach or
stay away from the student.
Academic achievement actions…
Knowing what knowledge and skills
the student has and doesn’t have.
This allows you to present work that
challenges the student without
frustrating them.
Actions…
-Providing a “Challenge Center” in
your room for students who complete
their regular work. It can contain
puzzles, games, etc.
-Providing individualized remedial
work for the student in the classroom
-Giving parents examples of things
they can do at home with the child.
-A list of “Challenge” books
-A list of remedial books
-A list of websites the student can go
to a home to be challenged or get
remediation
-Provide a peer tutor
-Seek an outside tutor
-Look for programs for the student
Academic ability actions…
This aspect of the student profile deals
with the potential of the student.
This differs from academic level in the
fact that some students that are
working at a lower level on the
achievement spectrum are doing the
best they can.
Maybe the young girl is doing the best
she can.
The goal of this factor is have the
student work up to their potential.
Actions you need to take to motivate
this student.
-Provide incentives
-Bring in a speaker
-Find a community member to
motivate them
-Challenge their natural curiosity
-Talk to them about their ability as
they may not have a belief in
themselves related to learning
Learning modalities actions…
-Help them understand how they
process information, teach them about
their learning style
-Provide other ways of presenting
information
-Include more movement in your
presentations
-Have the student research what it
means to be Visual, Auditory or
Kinesthetic learner on the internet
-Have them come to you what ideas on
how they can improve their learning
-Share the student’s learning style
with the parent
Support system actions…
-Connect them with an organization
such as Big Brothers and Sisters
-Find someone in the building they
might have a connection with…Aide,
Counselor, Secretary, Bus Driver, etc.
-Look for extended family
-Work with Parents in teaching them
how to be a support system for their
child…they might not know how to
parent.
-Extreme cases…involve Social
Services
-Get them involved in an extracurricular activity…develop
connections with other students
This could be sports teams, a band,
student council, drama clubs, art
clubs, etc.
Socio-economic factors actions…
The three factors that are normally
combined to define socio-economic
status are:
Income
Education
Occupation
Income actions…
-Find ways to make sure the student
has access to the same opportunities
and supplies as other students in the
school and community.
Examples…
-Getting the free supplies if needed
-Getting free buses for field trips
-Find ways to provide them
experiences that students with
financial resources would naturally
have
Every summer, hundreds of kids from
troubled neighborhoods in Los
Angeles learn to surf as they enjoy
the sun, sand and ocean at local
beaches, thanks to a program called
L.A. Surf Bus
The program is run by a nonprofit
created in 2003 by Mary
Setterholm, a former national
surfing champion.
Two things struck us when watching
the video.
The first, was the excitement and
sense of accomplishment the young
girl had.
The second, was the guy talking…he
was a local boy. He didn’t grow up in
California!
Are any of you aware of a similar
program that exist?
More actions…
-Getting them connected to free
medical or dental care
-Getting their parents connected to
services related to housing, food, etc.
Education actions…
-Get their parents involved in going
back to school and acquiring some
marketable skills
-Get the students involved in
internships or shadowing programs
(For those of you in the Village class,
you could use this action for both
classes)
-Free tutoring programs
-Find a business that would provide
you with someone who could tutor
your student
-Help the parent find ways to work
with their child at home…reading,
math, internet games, etc.
Occupation actions…
-Bring in speakers to show them the
possibilities that exist in the world.
-Give examples of individuals that
grew up in the area and are now
successful
Colorado is fortunate to have so many
professional athletes, musicians, etc
who come and give back to the kids
here.
Do you have any that have given back
to your school?
Self-esteem actions…
-Help the student who doesn’t feel
good about him/herself by showing
them that others have struggled with
their same issue.
A great video at recent Oscars…
-Get them connected with support
groups
-Help them with their social skills if
that is something impacting their selfesteem
-Counseling
Values actions…
What is important to the student?
Do they see education as important?
If they see education as important,
they will work harder.
Values actions…
-Share how it was against law to
educate slaves in this country at one
time…Why, education equals freedom
-Show them how an education can
impact their potential learning power
-Talk about how educated people have
more options in life
One of those options…not sure you
should talk about this will younger
student…is who you can marry.
In marriage, the man has traditional
been much more educated than the
woman.
From 1960 to 1990 averaging about 68 years more education.
Realize we said more educated, which
is based upon number of years the
individual has in school.
We did not say smarter… we all know
the woman is the smarter one of the
two in any relationship.
In 2012, the educational level of the
woman in the marriage was slightly
above that of the man. By less than
one year.
Women are marrying down!
As a female…how many of you are in a
relationship (married or dating) with
a guy who less educated than
yourself?
Maturity actions…
This particular area is tough because
in many situations it a matter of time.
We did not all mature at the same rate
and there is no magic pill to give
someone to “grow up.”
When you have a chance, look at the
birth dates of the most immature
students in your class.
Many times they are the
youngest…especially for the boys in
your class.
Actions…
-Don’t put them in situations that
require mature behavior
-Pick partners for them as they have a
tendency to pick partners who are as
immature as they are
-Talk about good decision making and
how people make good decision in
their lives
-Begin by giving them small tasks that
they can succeed in in showing how
they have matured and are making
better decisions
-Model and demonstrate how a
mature individual would handle a
situation
Interests actions…
-Pick books that reflect the student’s
interest.
-Have them write stories about things
that interest them.
-Give examples in class related to their
interests
-Bring in articles you might have seen
in a newspaper or magazine about
something they are interested in and
just give it to them
-Ask them questions about whatever
area they are interested in
Health issues actions…
-Make the appropriate
accommodations related to seating,
lighting, stimulation, etc.
-Snacks, hydration, medications, etc.
-Make referrals to the appropriate
school personnel about concerns you
have
-Help connect the parents with
resources in the community
-Learn about the particular health
issue the child has and
accommodations other educators
have made for those students
Physical actions…
This can include such things as
eyesight, hearing, coordination
physical disabilities, etc.
-Educate yourself on how these
conditions can impact a student’s
learning
-Make adjustments in seating
arrangements
-Make adaptations related to the
physical issues
-Provide examples of individuals with
physical challenges who over came
them. The stories about these people
are everywhere.
Mental health issues actions…
-Make referrals for student within the
school
-Help parents connect with outside
agencies
-Never give a diagnosis!